Saga Of The Planet Of The Apes
by zooman
Summary: Set during the first Planet of the Apes tv show, Burke, Virdon and Galen discover a race of mutated humans hiding out deep in the jungle.


SAGA OF THE PLANET OF THE APES

PROLOGUE-SOMEWHERE'S IN CALIFORNIA-3085

Burke, Virdon and Galen all moved switfly through the dense jungle. It was approaching nightfall now. each of the three wore a heavy brown backpack. Beads of sweat rolled down each of the astronauts's faces. "You're sure the village is not to far now?" Burke turned his head and asked the chimpanzee-who was walking behind him and Virdon walking on the left side of him. Galen was walking the usual ape way-the bent over gait, the bent knees, raising and lowering his shoulders up and down. His heavy brow ridges pushed together. "Well," he said panting from exhaustion, his green outfit stained with sweat, "I've only been there a couple of times when i was a young chimp, but yes if I remember correctly Zoex is just ten more miles at the end of this jungle. Alan Virdon was panting with even more exhaustion and finally collapsed down on the jungle floor on his backpack. Sweat covering his brown shirt and brown vest and tan pants and shoes. "Guys, it's too dark to travel anymore so lets say we rest," suggested Virdon as he just lay there with his eyes closing. Burke and Galen both sat down on the ground as well, both of them removing their backpacks. "Good idea," agreed Galen as he put his backpack on his lap and unzipped it, pulling out some bananas and eagerly peeling them. He tossed two of the pieces of fruit to both of his companions and pushed the juicy banana in his mouth and began chewing. Virdon and Burke both unpeeled their bananas and hungerly consumed the fruit. "It's good to see that some things from the twentieth century are still around," chuckled Burke as he swallowed the fruit, "one can still find a juicy banana!" The roar of a loud jungle cat from somewhere's far off. All three looked about themselves. "I don't think we're the only ones who are hungry," contemplated Virdon out loud, as he rested his large body into the tall, jungle grass while gobbling up his banana. His long, blonde hair covered in dirt from the ground. A giant sized dark blue spider suddenly ran up the side of a vine near Virdon's face. Virdon let out a startled shout and sat up. Galen continued to eat his banana. "You know, I remember reading in my family bible about how I had a distant ancestor who once shared a meal of bananas with three other male chimps, on his first day of slavery to twentieth century humans," remembered the young chimpanzee while gulping down the fruit,"if I remember the family legend, he and the other enslaved apes were confined in metal cells with some force that kept them in, and my ancestor got an electric shock from one of the forces, being first put in the cell and howled out in pain." Galen bit off another part of his banana. Burke and Virdon both sat listening with much interest. "Of course untill I met you guys I never believed any of the stories in the family bible," bewildered the chimpanzee as he looked down at the ground. Virdon turned around on his ass and faced Galen. "Well, im too tired to go any furthur tonight anyways," yawned the big blonde man as he gently lay back down on his back, "we'll get to Zoex Village in the morning. Goodnight." And with that he was fast asleep. Burke and Galen both lay on their left sides on the ground, while yawning.

Elsewhere,in Central City, Dr. Zaius and the gorilla Urko both stood inside a huge, stony enclosure a short distance away from the city. Other apes and humans were all walking about the stone-buildings city each just going about their way.

Inside the stone building away from the city, the orangutan and the gorilla general both stood together around a small, rock made table covered with tons of papers, including a large map. Zaius pointed to the map. "The runaways were last seen here, near Zoex Village," Zaius described to the gorilla with much interest, his back slouched over, his heavy brow ridges lowering, making several ape grunts. Urko just nodded his black helmeted woolly head. His purple, solider outfit glinting in the light from the torches in the rock office. "If they get to Zoex, we've lost them," shuddered Urko as he moved his slouched body around and around the table while looking down at the map, "the humans in Zoex are well known for protecting runaways, fugitives. And they're well armed." Zaius looked with surprise at Urko. "How do you mean?" "I mean just that," insisted the gorilla while twitching his heavy brow ridges, "the humans of Zoex have been known to successfully hold off ape attacks. Don't you think my forces and I have tried and tried. tghe humans finally all just ran off out of sight."

Then a female gorilla walked into the open entrance way of the rocky enclosure. The female gorilla wore a black, sleeveless dress covered with all kinds of weird purple insignias of all different shapes and sizes. She walked, hunched over-her black shaggy arms swinging back and forth- as she moved into the rocky enclosure, and waddled up to Urko. She and Urko suddenly hugged and kissed. "Urko, dear it's nightfall, come home to supper," pleaded the female gorilla. Zaius watched the movements of the female gorilla and just sighed in frustration. The gorilla general chuckled a bit. "I'm still busy dear, I'll be home when I finished here." He looked romantically at the female gorilla. The female gorilla just shrugged her shoulders and walked out of the rocky enclosure.

After she was gone Zaius walked towards Urko and looked directly at him. He made several loud ape grunts. "Urko, chances are the three of them are in that jungle area near Zoex." Urko glared down at the map on the table. "I want that jungle area surrounded by gorillas tonight!" Urko looked with shock at Zaius. "tonight!?" he asked the orangutan scientist. Zaius just nodded. "It's not that far..."

ONE-

Burke, Virdon and Galen were suddenly all woken up by the sounds of loud ape like hoots and grunts coming from everywhere in the dark jungle. Also the three saw dim torch lights. "What's going on?!" said Virdon loudly. He then noticed several gorilla soldiers standing in the jungle, not yet having seen him nor Burke nor Galen. "We have to get out of here!" said Burke in a loud whisper as he noticed more gorilla soldiers coming into the jungle waving torches. "Let's go!" agreed Galen as the three of them grabbed their backpacks and ran through the jungle. "THERE THEY ARE!" the voice of Urko shouted, "KILL THE TWO HUMANS! ARREST THE CHIMPANZEE!" "Ape shall never kill ape," Galen chuckling, whispered to Burke and Virdon as the three of them ran deeper through the jungle, hunched over, the sounds of loud gorilla grunts all around them.

Urko and his ten gorilla soldiers all gathered together in the jungle and spoke to each other while holding their torches to see by. "DAMN!" shouted Urko as he jumped up and down for a minute or so. "I'm sorry sir," said one of the gorilla holding a torch in both of his purple gloved hands, "but we'll find them!" Urko just stood scowling at his fellow gorillas. "Yes, we will!"

Burke, Virdon and Galen just ran stealthily through the dense undergrowth, hauling their backpacks in their left hands. They just kept running as fast and as quietly as possible. Galen moved with his back hunched over, slinging his arms up and down and grunting.

It was dawn. The two astronauts and the chimpanzee lay on their backs in the jungle fast asleep. Their backpacks were scattered nearby. Gradually the three of them slowly awakened and sat upright while yawning and rubbing the sleep from their eyes. "Good morning, "said Virdon with half a tired smile, "it looks like we finally out ran them." Burke stood up. "But where are we?" he asked while looking about himself, "I mean last night, we ran in every which direction we could to escape from Urko, so we went off course on our direction to Zoex." Galen slowly and tiredly rose up and made a quiet ape like whoop. Virdon stood up as well and ran his hands over his long blonde hair. he looked worriedly about himself. "We're lost from our course to Zoex," he decided,"but we're alive for now." "For now," included Burke in a sarcastic tone, as he squatted down and put his backpack back on, his blue shirt covered in mud and sweat stains. Galen looked about himself. "We are lost indeed," he stammered as his chimpanzee face made all kinds of weird expressions, "I don't know where we are." Virdon began walking. "I say we just get moving then," the blonde haired man said, as he shouldered his backpack, "that was not a request people." The three of them all then walked off across the dense jungle.

Back in Central City Urko and his small gorilla army rode their horses past all the various, circular rock made buildings.

Zaius slammed his red shaggy fist down on the table, right on the map. He looked very angry. Urko stood at the other end of the table facing the orangutan. "They eitheir made it to Zoex or they're still in the jungle," insisted Urko, frowning, "but we'll still get them..." "Go to Zoex!" ordered Zaius as he pointed towards the open entrance way of the rock built structure, "how dangerous can those humans in Zoex be to hold off an ape army!?" Urko leaned across the table at Zaius. "I already told you Zaius, "the frustrated gorilla grunted, while twitching his ape nostrils and raising his heavy black brow ridges, "the humans there are well skilled in holding us off-more skilled-more skilled than other humans-don't you think I tried, and tried and tried! If they got to Zoex we lost them for good!" Zaius pushed his scowling orangutan face closer towards Urko. "GET THEM!"

At that moment, two middle aged chimpanzee females sauntered into the rock built enclosure. Both of them smiled at the elder orangutan as they moved their ape gait-backs hunched over-towards the table. "You sent for us, Dr. Zaius?" asked one of the chimps, folding her arms over her green dress. Urko turned to look at them. Dr. Zaius walked to the two chimp females. "Yes, Drs Bella and Yalsevenea, "the orangutan nodded sullenly to both of the chimps, "you two are Central City's best geographers and what can you tell us about the areas surrounding Zoex Village?" The two chimps both shot surprised glances at each other. The two chimp females walked slowly to the table and pointed their brown shaggy fingers down at the map. "There's a tribe of humans that live all around the areas surrounding Zoex that are not like any other human anywhere else," Dr. Bella said while looking at Zaius and nodding her brown shaggy head at the elder orangutan. "How do you mean?" asked Urko. The two chimps sighed in fear and took long gulps. "How do you mean/" repeated the gorilla impatiently, his shoulders moving from side to side followed by ape like grunts. the chimp females slowly turned their chimpanzee faces to look at Dr. Zaius. "Uh...you see...Dr Ylsevenea and I once were making a survey of that area, and while we were there we heard folktales about humans who were horribly disfigured. " Zaius shook his red haired woolly head as he stared at the two chimpanzee geographers. "These humans were said to be malformed...uh...mutated somehow," described Dr. Bella. "And you believed these stories?" the gorilla asked, bitterly, looking at the two chimps sideways, "mutated?" "I don't know the details," concluded Dr. Bella,, as she looked from the gorilla to the orangutan, "but the folktales in the areas surrounding Zoex told of frightening mutant humans. And dangerous as well. That's all we know." There were a few moments of silence. Then Zaius cleared his throat and made some loud ape grunts. "Drs Bella, Yalsevenea you will accompany Urko and ten of his best marksmen to Zoex, and if the three fugitives aren't there you'll search the surrounding areas. "The two chimps just looked startled at each other. "MOVE!" ordered the orangutan. Urko and the two female chimps all ran out of the rock enclosure, their back hunched over, their arms swinging up and down.

Burke, Virdon and Galen all moved at a wolf trot through the dense jungle. Their backpacks hung over their shoulders. Their faces dripping in sweat. "Anybody got any ideas how close or far we are to Zoex?" asked Burke, as the young dark haired astronaut walked ahead, through the foilage of Virdon and Galen. "Not a clue," answered Virdon, "we got ost off course last night, now we just wander around." "It's a shame we got lost from Zoex like that," sighed Galen as he saw a glimpse of a massive red haired bear walking on all fours, quietly through some fallen branches to the left of him. The chimpanzee quickly looked away. "The humans in the Zoex are well known at being specially skilled in holding off any ape attacks." Galen walked with his back lowered, his arms moving up and down, his nostrils curling. "Urko and his gorilla army have NEVER been able to win any standoff from the humans there." Virdon wiped some sweat from his tired face. "Well it may be academic, because right now we don't know where Zoex could be..." Virdon stopped in mid sentence as he looked with surprise at the vast, weird structures right in front of him in the dense jungle!

Right in front of all three fugitives was a series huge canals dug into the jungle floor! The canals were huge! the size of 100 battleships! Burke, Virdon and Galen all found themselves standing on the very edge on one of the fifteen gigantic canals dug into the jungle floor. They looked down at awe at small groups of humans moving all about the 100 battleship sized canals, all operating twentieth century jeeps and motorcycles! There also cots and twentieth century kitchen type areas in the canals, where some of the humans could be seen sitting around tables eating. The humans all wore weird dark brown military type outfits, but as Virdon, Burke and Galen looked down into the giant canals and made closer looks, their faces took on expressions of sheer horror! Some of the humans looked up and pointed at the three and the two astronauts and Galen all saw that the human's faces were covered with what looked like severe radiation scarring, and were far more elonganated than for a normal human face. "What on Earth!?" exclaimed Burke, "no pun intended, but what are those...people?" The humans all had longish hair. Some of them had eyes that were situated horizontal on their faces. Their pupils were black! Some of the strange looking humans looked up and pointed to the three newcomers standing on the edge of the top of the canal, while others were busy driving jeeps and motorcycles up and down the canal. The giant sized canals stretched for miles over the jungle floor. Virdon's face took on a very shocked and horrified expression. He stared down at the 'canal city'. "I never saw humans like those before," observed Galen as he looked down with much surprise at the weird looking humans, while jumping up and down and making all kinds of funny expressions on his chimpanzee face. "I think I know, Pete and Galen," figured out Virdon in horror, as he pointed down at the weird looking men and women, "these are mutated humans! They descended from groups of survivors from whatever nuclear attack!" "We never came across humans like them before," shuddered Galen as he looked down at the canal city. "Let's get out of here!" shouted Burke. The three of them turned and ran back the way they had come through the jungle. "They don't look very friendly!" cried out Virdon as the three went running through the undergrowth away from the ship sized canals dug in the jungle floor.

The mutant humans were all chattering amongst themselves in some tongue which none of the three fugitives could understand, as several mutant men and women climbed up tall metal ladders leading from the bottom of the canal to the top: all of them armed with strange looking sub machine guns and grenades! All of the strange, mutant humans clambered up the ladders from the canals, pointing and shouting out to the two astronauts and the chimpanzee.

Back in Central City, Dr. Zaius happened to be strolling through the city-several apes and humans walked past him completely lost in their own thoughts. Zaius walked past a huge, bronze statue of a rather tough, mean looking chimpanzee wearing strange body armour and holding a rifle in his right hand. The caption alongside the bottom of the large, marble porch the bronze figure stood upon read: IN MEMORY OF THADE! THE CONQUEROR OF MAN, WHO CAME DOWN FROM THE STARS. Zaius stopped for a second and studied the statue. He briefly read the inscriptions underneath the caption: _The chimpanzee military leader, Thade came down from space in a spaceship, from another planet and lead an army of apes against some humans, and became a true victor..." _The elder orangutan turned away, his body hunched over, his legs moving up and down in the traditional ape like gait, his arms swinging up and down, the sunlight gleaming off of his bright, orange outfit.

Zaius walked on wards through Central City untill he came to a small park like area which contained a large statute of the holy, ancient orangutan THE LAWGIVER! Only two gorilla females stood in the middle of the grassy park talking loudly amongst themselves, and occasionally casting glances at the Lawgiver statute. The gorilla females both wore black, sleevless dresses covered with weird looking insignias.

The elder orangutan scientist paid little attention to the two gorillas and simply trotted up to the Lawgiver statute. He kneeled down in the grass on both knees in front of the statute, and bowed his orange shaggy head low. He folded his orange shaggy ape hands together and prayed. _Oh spirit of the Lawgiver. We apes shall always be God's chosen. Hardly any of the apes or humans, save for me know of the true history of what befell mankind in the distant past. Oh spirit of the Lawgiver, it is the holy, sacred right of all the orangutans, myself especially, to preserve and keep secret from all the hidden truth of man/ape's past. This be a vow I shall never break! Spirit of the greatest ape who ever lived."_

Dr. Zaius stood upright. His orange pants legs covered in grass stains. His orange shoes hidden in the thick grass. He made several loud ape grunts and moved off.

Elsewhere in the jungle, Burke, Virdon and Galen were all running for their lives throughout the entire jungle. There mutant humans chasing after them from every direction. the mutant humans drove everything from ancient, twentieth century jeeps and motorcycles, to even an old style tank! Bullets whizzed past the two astronauts and the chimpanzee. "Well there you go Alan!" shouted Burke over the loud din of gunfire, as he pushed himself through some vines in the jungle canopy-his two companions both following him-,"a civilization of advanced humans like you always wanted to find! Go and say hello to them! Show them the disc and ask if they can build a spaceship so we can get back home!" "Ok Pete!" shouted Virdon as a bullet whizzed past his knees, "I understand! Well this wasn't what I had in mind!" The trio saw mutant humans running around in the jungle on all sides of them now. The mutants shouted in a language totally foreign to all of them. Several, men and women mutated humans wearing faded dark brown uniforms were jumping all around the thick, green undergrowth trying to seemingly to take shots at the fleeing trio.

A grenade suddenly went off near Burke! Burke, Virdon and Galen all went flying high upwards, all of them shouting in fear, and all of them landed in some thick grass ontop of each other. They all quickly got back on their feet. "That was close alright," trembled Galen, as he took out a long pistol from a holster at his side. Virdon and Burke both glanced nervously about themselves.

Two mutant humans-one male, one female-both had long, shaggy black hair came into view of all three fugitives in the jungle, and both were armed with machine guns. Galen took shots at both of them with his pistol. Both mutant humans screamed as bloody holes appeared in their stomachs and both of them collapsed dead on their faces. "Nice shooting Galen!" complimented Burke, as the trio ran to the dead mutant bodies and grabbed up the machine guns.

As the threesome went running furthur through the dark green, tropical canopy, they then saw with horror, several gorilla soldiers standing by heavily armed with more machine guns! They saw two female chimpanzees standing right behind the gorillas, and then they saw the lead gorillas Urko himself come into view in the dense jungle undergrowth. Virdon, Burke and Galen all quickly spun away and went hiding under some very tall, thick grass. "Caught between a rock and hard place," noted Virdon as he got down on his stomach deep in the grass.

The trio watched as a small group of mutant men and women ran up to the gorillas and began opening fire on them with machine guns they hauled in their arms! The gorillas easily shot down the lot of them. "You two were right!" shouted Urko with a stunned look on his gorilla face, "a race of mutant humans!" "WOW!" exclaimed Dr. Bella. "I never saw humans such as those before!" shouted one of the other gorillas.

Virdon, Burke and Galen all watched the scene while being careful to stay undercover in the tall, thick grasses. All three of them were on their bellies. "Say Alan," Galen turned his head to look at the big, blonde haired astronaut, who kept his eyes on the apes standing a short distance in front of him. "Yes Galen," Virdon replied in a loud whisper. "Well how would mutant humans like this come about?" the chimpanzee inquired fearfully, "You seemed to know something about such kinds of humans." Virdon took a deep breath, and looked over at Galen. "Well as I said before, I believe them to be survivors of a nuclear holocaust," said the astronaut lost in thought, "mabey the descendants of survivors from radiation following a bomb, fallout." "Fallout?" asked the chimpanzee, "what's that? In fact explain radiation?" Burke made reluctant sigh. "Galen, this is no time for a physics lesson," the dark haired astronaut cautioned the curious chimpanzee, "eitheir the gorillas or the mutants are going to blow us to pieces any second! We have to find a way out of this jungle and mabey to Zoex Village. There we can find protection." The trio just then lay quiet hidden under the thick grass undergrowth untill the two female chimpanzees and all the gorillas just walked off out of sight.

Burke, Virdon and Galen all went scrambling out from under the grass and bounded uncontrollably though the jungle.

They suddenly came across five gorillas soldiers, carrying sub machine guns. "SHOOT THE HUMANS!" one of the gorillas shouted. The two astronauts quickly gunned down two of the gorillas, while the three others went running away. The two astronauts picked up all the weopontry. The tro then went on running through the dense, dark green, thick undergrowth.

As the heavily armed trio came to a still brook deep in the jungle, three mutant humans-two men and one female-all had long, sickly gray hair, their faces covered with huge radiation scars and scabs and their eyes situated horizontally on their faces, came charging at the three fugitives from the underbrush. The three mutants all carried heavy machine guns. Burke, Virdon and Galen and the mutants all exchanged gunfire with each other, till the mutant humans all collapsed on their backs dead.

Burke, Virdon and Galen went on running aimlessly through the jungle, untill a tank-driven by the mutants-appeared in front of them and began blasting away! Burke, Virdon and Galen all fired off volleys of gunfire at the tank and then turned ran!

As the three ran they heard eitheir the loud chattering of the mutants in their own language or the grunts and hoots of the gorillas. As they ran through the jungle they saw tanks and jeeps driven by the mutants sometimes following them. The trio just kept running till they outran all their pursuers and found themselves in a small meadow deep in the jungle. Burke, Virdon and Galen all collapsed with exhaustion on their knees on the grass, totally out of breath. They dropped their weopons down on the grass. "Well we out ran them, for now," said Virdon as he sat cross legged with exhaustion in the grass. Galen looked alla round himself. His chimpanzee features brightening. "Hey, I know where we are now!" he said with recognition, "I know this place! I was here before!" he exclaimed as he pointed his shaggy, brown finger in a western direction, "Zoex Village is only a mile from her, that way!" Burke and Virdon both nodded and smiled at each other. "Then let's get going!" commanded Virdon, loudly. The three got back on their feet once again.

TWO-

Dr. Zaius rode the brown and white spotted horse deep into the jungle and joined Urko, and the two female chimpanzees and the other gorillas, who all stood around a collection of jeeps, motorcycles and tanks in the dense undergrowth. Several dead mutant humans sat at the wheel of the jeeps, saturated in blood. The elder orangutan got off the horse, and scampered towards the other apes-his back hunched over, his orange sleeved arms swinging up and down, his legs making long strides. He made several loud hoots and grunts as he looked at all the army green, mutant vehicles. His orangutan features took on a very, very stunned amazed look! His heavy brow ridges moved up and down as his eyes scanned and studied the strange sight. "WOW! UNBELIEVABLE!" shouted the orangutan scientist as he walked around and around the jeeps and tanks. Urko hunched his back over and moved towards Zaius, also swinging his arms up and down. He carried a machine gun in both arms, clutched tightly against his purple military outfit, his helmet stained all over with blood. "The folktales were right Zaius!" shouted the gorilla general, as he moved his black woolly head from side to side, "the areas surrounding Zoex Village is indeed inhabited by mutant humans!" "Mutated from what?" asked the chimpanzee geographer, Dr. Bella as she shook with fear at the sight of everything she saw in the jungle. She made a series of loud chimpanzee hoots and calls, her chimpanzee features changing into all kinds of crazy expressions. "From atomic radiation no doubt," Zaius whispered to himself, "from when the humans made war on each other." "How did humans get ahold of super weopons such as these?" asked Urko as he got behind the wheel of one of the jeeps and pushed the dead, male mutant driver out of the way. He gripped the steering wheel. The other gorillas and the two female chimpanzees got behind the wheels of the other jeeps and also pushed away the mutant corpses. Dr. Zaius climbed up to the top of one of the tanks. "Usually, I would order these weopons destroyed, but since we know now that dangerous mutant tribes have super weopons as such, the ape army will take these," grunted the orangutan as he lifted the top of the tank, and jumped down into the vehicle. "THIS CAR STINKS OF MAN!" shouted/echoed the voice of Zaius from inside the tank. A few seconds later, the tank door popped open again and Dr. Zaius climbed out and down the ladder down the tank to the ground. His back hunched over, his legs making very long strides, he grunted and hooted as he walked back to his brown and white horse and climbed back on top of the animal. "The priority is still Burke, Virdon and Galen!" he ordered the apes as he rode away, "I'm going back to Central City. Keep me posted. Whether positive or negative. Burke and Virdon are to be shot on sight!" And with that Zaius rode away through the jungle and out of sight.

Elsewhere deeper in the jungle, Burke, Virdon and Galen all lay on their stomachs flat under some vines in the dark green brush. "What I'd like to know is, how did these mutants have working twentieth century machinery?" Burke asked uneasily, as he kept his eyes focused on the jungle ahead of him. Virdon just shrugged. "I have no idea Pete," he admonished bitterly, " anymore than I have an answer to anything about this crazy future!" Beads of sweat dripped from his long, blonde hair and ran in rivulets down his handsome face. "Let's just keep our minds on getting to safety in Zoex Village," advised Galen as he leaned forwards a bit, "it seems nobody is around so we have a chance now!"

The threesome rose up and moved quietly and cautiously through the thick jungle.

Back in Central City, Dr. Zaius walked into his rock carved office-his back hunched over, his orange clothed legs making wide strides across the stone floor. The office was covered with rock made tables covered with books. Dr. Zaius walked to the table and looked down at one of the books. An ancient human book. A red cover with the title-in gold letters-THE HABITAT AND BEHAVIOUR OF THE WILD ORANGUTAN-DR. BIRUTE GALDIKAS. Dr. Zaius stared down at the book on the rock table and let out a cross between an ape shrill and a chuckle. "I'm one of the very few who knows the truth," he said to himself quietly.

Deep in one the giant, 100 battleships sized, canals dug out deep in the jungle, three mutants walked past several jeeps and tanks and spoke in their own language amongst themselves. Two young men-both had long, scraggily, sickly white hair, their faces very heavily covered with thick radiation scars, their faces greatly elonganated, their eyes situated horizontal on their radiation scarred, disfigured faces. The woman had long, sickly looking brown hair. "We'll get them for sure," said the mutant woman in a creepy tone of voice, her straight brown lips forming into a frightening, sinister smile, "we can't let anyone from the outside know about us! No ONE! Anyone from outside must die!" "We have to make sure the apes never find our civilization out here eitheir," reminded one of the mutant men, "ever since our ancestors fled here from the fallout from the final human war, we've made sure to keep our civlization secret from the outside world. " "What's left of the outside world,"the mutant woman said with an evil snicker, "that's why those two humans and the chimp must especially die!" Both of the mutant men nodded as the three of them walked through a garage strewn with various parts from guns and tanks. Several other mutant humans wearing gray overalls and wearing gray helmets were walking all around the garage deep in the huge canal in the jungle. Their faces were especially hideous-deep radiation scars and pock marks, their flesh nearly hanging off their faces. "Except for the Underdwellers south of here, we're the only other mutant humans we know of," said the mutant woman in an evil tone of voice, "and thats why we can't afford ANYONE from the outside EVER knowing about us. ""No," agreed both of the mutant young men walking alongside her, "that's why it's imperative we find those three at once and kill them! If the apes knew where to find us..." the woman never finished. She trembled and shook with fear.

In the deep jungle Galen crept as quiet as possible through the undergrowth towards the large village he saw right ahead of him between a collection of hanging jungle vines. Galen could make out all kinds of men and women walking about the village, wearing peasant outfits chatting amongst themselves. "Zoex Village," he said in a near whisper, his back hunched over, his green sleeved arms swinging up and down.

The, as Galen's legs made long, knees bent strides closer towards the village right ahead-he could discern the large brown thatched huts and abodes-he caught sight of three gorilla sentries standing-trying not to be seen-between some trees.

The gorillas then all looked at Galen and shouted out:"HEY! THE CHIMP GALEN! ARREST HIM" the chimpanzee darted through the dark green undergrowth and was soon lost to sight.

Galen grabbed hold of some vines and swung upwards in the upper terraces of the jungle canopy.

He let go of the vines when he was far above the treetops and then landed on his feet on a thick leafy bough deep in the jungle. He watched from his hiding vantage point the gorilla sentries running through the jungle below.

Galen ran towards Burke and Virdon who were crouched on their shoe heels, hidden behind some fallen, rotten tree trunks. The two astronauts waved their hands excitedly when they saw their chimpanzee friend approach. "Well?" they both asked him as both men stood up. Galen grunted and hooted and swung his arms back and forth from the side as he made his back bent over gait towards them. "Zoex Village is just nearby," he told them,"unfortunately Urko's gorillas are also keeping watch, hiding in the jungle just outside the village." "DAMN!" bursted Virdon in frustration as he glared at the ground.

Back in the mutant canal city, the three mutant humans who were walking down the huge canal talking amongst themselves came to a large dog kennel where like fifteen dogs were being held in cages. One of the mutant men laughed. "Dogs and cats must have been quite lovely for house pets, back two thousand years ago," chuckled one of the mutant men in an evil, scary deep voice, his pure black pupils brightening in a sinister kind of way, "it's a shame only a very handful of them survived the plague from space." The female mutant nodded in affirmation. "They make excellent scouts for us," she said in her creepy sounding voice, "there must be only 700 left in the entire world."

In the jungle, Burke, Virdon and Galen tiptoed through the deep jungle and saw the village of Zoex a little ways ahead of them, through a pile of vines, hanging down from the trees. "Let's hope we can finally reach it and safety," whispered Virdon nervously. As the three made their way towards the village, they heard the loud hoops and grunts of two or three gorillas, they looked behind themselves and saw Urko and two of his gorillas running through the jungle towards them. The gorillas all took aim with their machine guns they carried, but Burke, Virdon and Galen all ran off out of sight.

As Burke, Virdon and Galen all dashed for cover in the deep jungle-streaks of sunlight guiding the way-the three fugitives were greeted by the sight of twenty mutant men and women walking towards them in the jungle, followed by a tank. The mutants all carried large machine guns and opened fire on the trio! Burke, Virdon and Galen all opened fire back and managed to gun down dead ten of the mutants who all went flying back backwards, screaming in pain from the huge bloody gaping holes in their bodies. The trio then ran off.

As they moved steadily through the jungle, Burke shook his head fearfully. "We have to get to the village and right now!" he shouted, "pretty soon every mutant and gorilla will be combing the jungle for us!" "AGREED!" shouted Virdon in acknowledgment, "if we live long enough!"

Deeper in the jungle Urko and his gorilla scouts came across five mutant men and women who they surprised walking through the jungle (three men and two women). The mutants carried machine guns and soon fired off round after round on the apes, who fired rounds back and killed all the mutants.

Urko snorted and made his hunched over gait towards one of the bleeding dead bodies (the body of one of the men). He kicked the body with his boot. "Most humans are ugly," he said sarcastically as he studied the deep radiation scars all over the face and hands, the pure black pupils, the eyes situated horizontal on the faces, the over elongonated faces, "but these ones are the ugliest!"

Burke, Virdon and Galen all clambered up a hill in the middle of the jungle-the hill was barren of trees-and upon reaching the top of the hill, all three perched themselves and looked down at the village of Zoex a little ways below them. They watched all the human villagers walking to and from and going about their daily tasks. "We have to sneak into the village somehow," said Burke at last. "But how?" asked Galen. Virdon just shook his head.

Back in his rock carved office in Central City, Dr. Zaius welcomed three more orangutans-two males and one female orangutan. The female wore a long, short sleeved orange dress which was covered with geometric designs all over the entire orange fabric. She also wore several yellow beaded necklaces. "Welcome fellow orangutans," greeted Dr. Zaius as the four gathered all around the rock made, book strewn table in the centre of the rock hewn abode. "May I ask, Zaius, what it is that you called us here to discuss?" the female asked, her back hunched over, her arms swinging from side to side, large ape like grunts mixed with her words. The two male orangs all grunted and swung their arms, their backs bent, and made weird ape shrills as they examined all the books on the rock made table. "You learned scientists, orangs of the holy cloth," began Zaius as he waved his orange sleeved arms about, his back hunched over, his heavy brow ridges rising and falling, his orang nostril twitching, "as you know it is the duty of us orangs to keep the sacred books of the Lawgiver-the holy scribes of that great ape-and our duty to know and find out as much as possible on the hidden mysteries of the fall of mankind, centuries ago. All the orangs nodded. Dr. Zaius jumped up and down a little bit, his back bent, shouting out large ape hoots. "It is only us, in ALL of Central City who know deep secrets of the fall of the humans and the rise of the apes, "said the female orang in strange tone of voice, "humans long ago doomed themselves with eitheir simian flu or their weopons of self destruction." "Indeed," nodded Dr. Zaius in affirmation as he looked right at the female orang, "but what none of you never were allowed to see till now, that was only kept secret to me was this..."

Zaius turned around and reached for a long white scroll on a rock made shelf right behind him. He turned around to face the other orangs and held up the huge scroll. "This, my fellow orangutans, is the actual Sacred Scroll penned by the Lawgiver centuries ago!" The other apes' mouth all drooped wide open, as they all made their funny gaits rushing to see the scroll. They closely observed the beautiful red penmenship. "Us orangs have been given a scared duty to know and have knowledge kept secret from the masses. I kept these scrolls to myself for quite a few years but I then realized that I was not abiding by my sacred duty as an orang but being selfish. I decided that all of us orang should know the knowledge. So now I've chosen to share." The orangs all gathered around the scrolls held in Zaius's orange, shaggy hands.

_Mankind ultimately destroyed themselves by their own greed, avarice and blood lust! The bombs were only the tools, built by the careless race that finally had no other purpose but to launch war on their own kind..._

_Beware the beast man, for he is the devil's pawn. Alone among God's primates he kills for lust and greed. Yea, he will murder his brother to..._

_Ape shall never kill ape (a sacred law begun centuries before, some years after the final holocaust...)_

_We still wait my children..._

_Man became dominated/ servitude by the very creatures he himself once kept as slaves. Beginning with the fall of Breck..._

The orangutan scientists all studied every word written in the sacred scrolls. Dr. Zaius just nodded and smiled. "See for yourself the very sacred words written by the Lawgiver himself," he barked, in between ape grunts, "and what particularly scares me is that there are two humans from the past era on the run in our era right now..."

Burke, Virdon and Galen just sat on the grassy hilltop spying on the village below. "We have to get into Zoex without being seen somehow," said Virdon as he crouched his body down on the grass.

THREE-Urko and his gorillas, all looked up, Burke, Virdon and Galen on the hill from the jungle under brush. The gorillas all raised their weopons. "Now is the time we get them," Urko commanded the other apes, as quietly as he could, "but we don't another mishap. We want bullets in Burke and Virdon right now! And Galen arrested!"

Elsewhere in the jungle, a mutant man-long, dry brown hair and an even particularly radiation scarred up face (and no nose!) looked up from the dense foliage covering him a-held up his rifle and aimed is firearm at the three fugitives perched on the hill watching the village of Zoex far below. "Now we get them," the mutant man said to himself in a whisper,"nobody can know of our existence!" His radiation scarred hands clutched the firearm as tight as possible. His pure black pupils scanned the horizon.

Back in Central City, Dr. Zaius and the three other orangs all stood around the rock carved table in his rock hewn office, and held hands while chanting at a bronze statute of the Lawgiver on the table.

_The spirit of the Lawgiver never dies! We are always the Lawgiver's children! We orangutans will always be the protectors and the keepers of the Lawgiver's holy words! Hear us oh great Lawgiver, we orangutans will always be there to safeguard your sacred scrolls!_

The chant ended. Dr. Zaius looked at the statute and smiled. His orangutan nostrils. His huge simian brow ridges pushed together. "A sacred vow that will be sacred and holy to all of us."

At that moment, other orangutans males and females came strolling into Dr. Zaius's rock carved office abode. The apes all walked with the funny, back hunched over, long strided gait with their legs bent while making ape hoots and grunts and calls. All of the orangutans in the office all looked down and studied the Scared Scrolls lying on the rock hewn table in the office. "Go ahead and read my orangs," said Zaius proudly, "we, all of us orang scientists must have shared knowledge of the secrets of our past, and the downfall of man."

Virdon, Burke and Galen all ran backwards together on the grassy hilltop then made a run together towards the end of the cliff. "OK NOW!" ordered Virdon, as the three of them leaped off the hilltop.

Urko and his gorillas all opened fire on Burke and Virdon as the two men flung themselves high into the air, but the two astronauts spun around around in mid air and shot back at them with the weopons they still carried.

The human mutant also took shots at them from his rifle, but the bullets missed the threesome.

Urko turned around to the sound of the rifle shots nearby and saw the male mutant to his right! He gunned down the mutant killing him instantly in a thick pool of blood.

Virdon, Burke and Galen all leaped won the side of the huge hill and landed on a massive brown thatched hut in the village of Zoex. "MADE IT!" shouted Virdon as he fell backwards on the straw after he landed. Burke and Galen both fell on top of him-all three laughing. All the humans in the village stopped what they were doing and stared upwards at the three fugitives, who just landed on the thatched hut.

Urko and his gorillas all jumped up and down in the jungle in rage and frustration! Their backs hunched over, their purple sleeved arms swinging up and down! Their fangs gritted!

In the village, Burke and Virdon and Galen all laughed and hugged each other. "We're safe from Urko and the mutants now," said Galen happily, making loud chimpanzee grunts in between laughter, "the humans here can protect us!"

EPILOGUE-

Zaius and Urko and the rest of the gorillas and the two female chimpanzees all stood together in the jungle in the same spot surrounded by all the mutant jeeps and tanks and motorcycles. Some horses stood nearby. Zaius and Urko both looked furious at each other. "Well we'll get them next time then!" shouted Urko. "I guess so," admitted Zaius, "you failed me Urko and the crime for treason is hanging. Not hung to death, but just hung to be very uncomfortable for an hour." Urko jumped up and down, his back still hunched over, his arms swinging up and down, the gorilla made loud grunts and hoots.

Urko and the gorillas and the two female chimps and even Dr. Zauis all got behind the wheels of each of the jeeps and began driving off. "We will keep these vehicles for the gorilla army!" shouted the elder orangutan as he turned the steering wheel, "mabey we'll learn to make more of them! We already spent hours learning how to drive them, so we'll put them to use to keep the humans at bay!" Urko just nodded, as he drove off.

Back at the mutant canal city, a large group of mutant humans all stood together surrounded by shelves packed with machine guns. The mutants were all scowling in rage. "We will find the three sometime and still kill them!" shouted the voice of a male mutant.

In the village, Burke, Virdon and Galen all stood in the dusty village street being greeted by one friendly person after another. All three of them beamed. "We can protect you from the apes," voices came from the crowd. "The village is more trained than others in fending off the apes so stay here and you'll be safe," a woman's voice came from the crowd. "I guess this is where we'll be for awhile, "grinned Galen.


End file.
